It is well known that keyfobs, with or without key blades, are widely used and enjoyed by vehicle owners. It is also well known that smartphones and similar devices are at least equally widely used and enjoyed by most vehicle owners. It is anticipated that future vehicles will utilize a mobile application, or app, stored and run on a smartphone as a virtual keyfob. Using a smartphone or similar device as a virtual keyfob eliminates the need for keyfobs which themselves have certain drawbacks. The primary drawback of present keyfobs is the cost of replacement or repair in the event the keyfob is lost or stolen, or in the event the keyfob ceases to function properly. Secondarily, keyfobs can be rather bulky to carry on one's person. Although smartphones are likewise often misplaced and are bulky to carry, the elimination of one of the two devices reduces the likelihood of misplacement and the amount of items one has to carry.
While replacing the keyfob with a virtual keyfob is desired by vehicle owners, the elimination of the keyfob creates some issues for vehicle manufacturers within the manufacturing, transportation, and selling processes. More specifically, the manufacturer must have a means of starting new vehicles during the manufacturing or assembly process in order to perform all necessary vehicle tests, including a driving test, prior to transporting the new vehicle to a dealership. During the transporting process, a need may arise to drive the vehicle a short distance during loading/unloading of a vehicle carrier. Once at the dealership, dealers must have a means of starting the new vehicle to allow prospective purchasers to test drive the vehicle. It is simply not feasible to use a different smartphone for each test drive. Even more, prospective purchasers will be reluctant to download an app to their smartphone solely to test drive a new vehicle.
Accordingly, a need exists for an inexpensive way for vehicle manufacturers to overcome issues related to the replacement of keyfobs with virtual keyfobs owned by prospective purchasers. Ideally, a keyfob having limited functionality in order to minimize cost could be utilized to provide the functionality needed throughout the manufacturing, transportation, and selling processes. More specifically, the keyfob would have to be paired with a specific new vehicle at the assembly location and unpaired from the new vehicle when the purchasers' virtual keyfob is paired to the new vehicle. Even more, it would be desirable if the keyfob were able to communicate with the new vehicle's computer to start the vehicle via a local area wireless network and with the manufacturer via a wireless network, and be able to switch between modes of operation including an assembly mode, a transportation mode, and a user mode.